Rarest of Wines
by KestrelMoonfayre
Summary: Beth gets to know Josef better after she gets dropped off at his apartment for her "own safety". -This might start out friendship and go somewhere else. (I'm more Mick/Beth, but Beth/Josef intrigues me)
1. Chapter 1

_So this is my first story I've posted, be gentle! But tell me what needs some fixin' :)_

_I do not own Moonlight or any of the characters there in. (But if I did, you could count on another season!)_

**Chapter 1**

Josef Konstantin woke suddenly from a dead sleep. Someone was in his house. He couldn't tell whom yet because of the sealed freezer, but someone was certainly here. Triggering the release, he stepped from the welcomed cold of his freezer to the coolness of the room. He always kept it just warm enough to be comfortable for the few human guests he occasionally entertained. A quick inhale revealed that none other than Mick's human, Beth, to be the cause of the early disruption. Glancing at the clock on the wall proved it just twenty-four minutes after seven in the morning. _Can't _anyone _let a sleeping vampire lie? _The navy blue silk robe he had hung up before going to sleep slipped onto his lean frame. He was still tying a loose knot around the waist as he stepped into his living room.

She had been standing uncertainly by the doorway, and all but jumped as he appeared. He enjoyed the nice spike in her pulse. _This had better be quick. I don't think Mick would forgive me for eating his 'girlfriend'. _Pushing hunger aside, he motioned to the couch. Beth took her seat and he sat in the chair across the in-table from her. There were a few things he needed to ask her, but first on the list was, "Care to explain how you got into my home?"

There was an awkward silence before she finally answered, "Mick dropped me off here. The case he is working on got a little more intense than he planned." Her pulse fluttered a little as she said the last part.

"What did you do?" Josef asked.

She had done something idiotic, he knew before she even opened her mouth to say, "He wasn't getting anywhere with his leads, so I decided to help him out. The case involved a college girl being murdered. I decided that I would get more information out of the victim's friends if they believed I was like them. So I 'transferred' to the college and got close to them. It turns out that the group she was in practiced witchcraft. They welcomed me into their coven, and I thought that my plan was working really well. Then the vampire arrived. She must have smelled Mick's scent on me because she went ballistic. She ordered the other girls to sacrifice me, which I figure is what happened to our victim. I'm lucky that Mick is a tad bit over protective because when I didn't make it home after work he hunted me down. The leader ran, and he had to run after her. So, here I am." Beth finished with a little shrug.

_Journalists seem to have a knack for putting themselves in danger._ He glanced up at Beth from where he rested with his head on his fist. _Well, this one at least. _After a moment Josef said, "So while he's out playing your knight-errant, I get to babysit you?" He flashed her one of his smug grins.

"Ha! At my age, it's hardly _baby_sitting, and _you_ don't have to do anything. I'm sure that your security is more than vampire proof," she motioned around the apartment.

"Yes, but not nearly enough it would seem," he mumbled under his breath. Standing up he announced, "Well if you'll excuse me, I'm rather thirsty. Care to join me in the kitchen?" She paled at his nonchalant statement of hunger. He could almost see the image she conjured into her head at his words.

"No, thank you. I'll stay in here."

"Oh? You don't want a glass of wine?" he quirked an eyebrow at her refusal. "I'd imagine that after your night you'd want something to calm you down."

Beth seemed to realize that he was trying to goad her fear. She straightened her back, met his amused eyes, and said, "A glass would be wonderful." She got up to follow him to the kitchen.

As he walked, Josef considered the human keeping pace beside him. Her blonde hair fell in soft waves to the top of her back. Blue eyes flecked with brown stared at the expensive décor of his top-floor home. Tight jeans and a black baby-tee did nothing to hide her curvy figure. The appetizing scent of her AO negative blood teased his senses. This brought him back to his previous predicament.

A button on the wall beside the light switch was pressed as he walked by. There was the almost imperceptible click of the intercom. "Who shall I send over Mr. Kostan?" a polite feminine voice queried.

"Elaine," he said after a thought. She was the most pleasant to female company. The others could be a bit jealous, to say the least.

"She is on her way, sir."

Sitting on a stool beside the marble countertop, Beth gave him a pointed stare.

"What? I'm hungry. However if your offering...," She sat back further on her stool and crossed her arms.

"I'm not. Now I believe you have some wine to offer me?" A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Josef had hoped to throw her off balance with his bluntness, but she was playing along. A mischievous grin spread across his face. Let the games begin.

"I have a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, a German Riesling, Me–?"

"Anything that wouldn't cost me my paycheck and more? I just want a glass, so you don't have to offer me the expensive stuff." She completely ignored Josef's personal offer.

"Here then," he grabbed a smaller bottle, "Merlot. Nothing too expensive and palatable by everyone." He broke the seal and poured her a generous glass. As he pushed the glass toward her, a petite brunette with a choppy haircut entered the room.

"Mr. Kostan! If I had known you were entertaining I would have worn something more formal," she said in a melodic voice. Josef had to stop himself from laughing as he watched Beth scan her 'casual' short turquoise dress and frown. He could almost hear her thoughts, and he was sure he caught the word "blood-slut" somewhere in there.

"Beth, Elaine. Elaine, Beth," he gestured respectively. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to – unless you'd care to join us?"

Elaine's hackles visibly rose. She clung possessively to Josef's arm as she said, "I'm sure Beth wants to stay and finish her wine, after-all it would be a pity to let that go to waste." She turned on her stilettos and sashayed toward his study.

"As untempting as that offer is, I'll pass," Beth said to no one in particular before she took a sip of her wine.

"Believe it or not, but that was friendly compared to the others," Josef whispered into her ear as he passed. Beth gave an unladylike snort and returned her attention to her wine. He grinned and followed Elaine out of the kitchen.

.:!:.


	2. Chapter 2

_I do not own Moonlight or any of the characters therein (except for Elaine) and just to be safe, I don't own Hotel California by the Eagles either._

**Chapter 2**

Trying to focus her mind on something other than what was happening in the other room proved to be a challenge. Beth glanced in the direction of the muffled moans with disbelieving eyes. God, she's really pouring it on for no reason. A woman acting jealous near her was nothing new, but this skank took it to a whole new level. A large sip of wine helped drown out the noise, and the rest of her glass did wonders. As she was pouring her second glass she realized that the noise had stopped. No sooner had she noticed then Josef stepped into her view.

"I see 'help yourself' didn't need to be said." He gave her his best smile and she merely raised an eyebrow.

"Turned out I needed a drink more than I thought," _thanks to you and your freshy_, she finished to herself.

Josef leaned against the kitchen doorway before saying, "I know what you mean."

She focused on memorizing the intricate carvings in the maple cabinets, trying to ignore his odd jab. As she scanned the room, she could feel his eyes following her. Mick had insisted that she would be safe here, but honestly, Josef more than creeped her out with his lingering stare, which is why she almost jerked when he finally spoke.

"Seeing as you're stuck here and I'm sorely lacking in sleep, let's get on with the tour shall we?" he turned and offered her his arm like they were in a Jane Austin movie, taking a walk through the park. She ignored the proffered arm and marched past him, more than a little angry with his weird staring.

"Ah, 21st century independence. Gotta love it!" he said sarcastically, as he rolled back on his heels.

Beth paused and gestured for him to lead, "Go ahead, then. Regain your masculinity," she said in equal sarcasm.

"Don't mind if I do," he strolled across his living room toward the hallway, pointing to rooms as he went. "You've already seen the kitchen. That," he motioned towards the closed door to his right, "is my office." He led her down the adjacent hallway and past a few rooms, before he stopped and opened a door, "And this is your room."

Beth took one step in as Josef reached in to turn a dial, allowing dim light to grow. The room was dominated by a large sleigh bed. Its comforter was a deep blue with golden curling vines embroidered along its border, and looked surprisingly inviting. At the end of the bed, a flat screen TV hung on the wall over an antique dresser. Thick curtains the same color as the comforter hid the windows and trailed down to drape on the plush grey carpet that covered the floor.

"_This_ is your guest room?" she couldn't keep the awe out of her voice.

"Actually this is the room I have set up to pose as my bedroom," he announced smugly. Beth turned to face him slowly; a slight flush to her cheeks much to Josef's enjoyment.

"You expect me to sleep in your _bedroom_?!" She couldn't believe what he had said.

"It's not my real bedroom. Freezer, hello. I can promise you that I've never slept in that bed even once." He thought for a moment, "Before I leave I had better tell you not to open the door at the back of the closet." She glanced wonderingly at the closet door, and with that he closed the bedroom door on a very angry reporter. "Night, Beth!" he hollered as he headed to bed.

She ran to the door as soon as it closed and tried to open it, but no matter how hard she pushed it wouldn't budge. _That son of a bitch locked me in!_ She was stuck in a strange house with an even stranger vampire and no way out. Wait. _The windows!_ Beth tugged the obscuring material out of the way, hope blooming in her chest, only to be met with metal - a solid damn sheet of steel at least an inch thick judging by the sound it made when she beat her knuckles against it.

Hotel California started to play from somewhere in the back of her mind. She sat on the bed, barely paying attention to its softness. Instead, she stared at the closet door. _Hmm, he says not to open it. _It could lead to a way out; after all he wouldn't build a room he couldn't get out of. _Or it could lead to a pit full of drained, decaying bodies. Or a torture chamber. _He _is_ a vampire. The chances of it being something horrific behind the door are higher than most. Beth felt something cold within her hand. She glanced down to see the handle to the closet door in her grasp. It seemed that she'd already decided what she was going to be doing.

With a gentle tug, she opened the closet and stepped in. Clothes lined both sides of the large space. There were pants, suit jackets, shirts, and shoes. Even without looking Beth knew that they were all tailor made and _very_ expensive. She could practically taste the money in here. Scanning the back wall showed no signs of a door. With the tips of her fingers, she felt along every inch of the visible surface. _Maybe it's got a hidden latch?_ As she was stretching to feel along the upper part of the wall, she knocked a shoe box out of the way. It revealed what appeared to be a row of screw heads where the shelf was secured to the wall, which wouldn't be odd, except all of the others had been covered to create a seamless image. She leaned in to inspect them, pressing her finger on the top of each.

Click.

_Bingo!_ Beth smiled to herself. The previously smooth wall now had a door outline from where it had swung open a centimeter. Listening closely, she tried to detect any dangers in the next room. After half a minute of silence, she slowly pushed the door open enough to peek into the next room. Besides slate grey walls and a hook there wasn't much to see, it appeared. She opened the door all the way and froze.

In the center of the room lay a freezer, and on top of that freezer sat Josef.

"Beth! What a nice surprise! If I had known this was the room you wanted all along I would have offered," he teased as he stood up.

"Why the hell did you lock me in and why does that damn door lead to your freezer?!" she pointed back the way she'd came.

"Locking you in is just a precaution. If by any chance someone manages to get through my security to get to you, with that door locked – with steel bars, not just a flimsy key lock, mind you - they also have to get through me. As for why that door leads to my freezer... I told you that was my bedroom. Why wouldn't I have a way to get to sleep in my own room?" he leaned back on his 'bed' with a satisfied smile. "Now that all of your burning questions have been answered, care to finally let me get some sleep?" he gave a pointed look at the closet before he started untying his robe. Beth made a beeline for the relative safety of her own room and Josef shut the freezer room door with a thud behind her.

She shut the other closet door and moved the chest at the end of the bed up against it. _Not that it would stop him._ Then she kicked off her shoes and crawled underneath the coverlet. She lay back against the pillows, but didn't close her eyes. _There's no way in hell I'm going to sleep with Dracula across the closet._

.:!:.

**Author's Notes:**

So now that anyone who was reading this story has given up, I've finally decided to upload! Just joking! (Though it may not seem like it.)

Seriously, I am sorry for the long wait for those of you who want me to continue this. I have several chapters done now that just have to be read by my sister and Okayed. Then I'll upload them all at once to make up for it!

Anyway, for those of you who bothered to read this, as before criticism is welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

_I do not own Moonlight or any of the characters therein. Moonlight and its characters are the property of its respective owners, meaning not me._

_A quick note before-hand... I realized that I've never given the time period for this. This story would be set after the shows ended. 'Kay that's all, y'all! Get readin'!_

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Beth awoke in pitch black. Confusion set in, until she remembered yesterday's events, where it quickly turned to panic and anger. _The lights are out, but I fell asleep with them on... _which meant Josef had been in her room. She scrambled from the bed ran toward where she remembered the light switch being, her arms out in front to keep from smashing her face. When she finally found the annoying dial, she turned it all the way to the right, filling the room with light. She blinked away the blindness that came with going from sudden dark to light. Nothing looked disturbed. The chest was still shoved up against the closet door and the windows were still solid sheets of metal, but she knew he'd been here.

"Morning, Beth."

She spun to face the smirking billionaire casually leaning in the now open doorway. "What is it with vampires and sneaking up and out on people?" she mumbled with an exasperated sigh. Josef raised his eyebrows in response.

"I see that Mick's pulled that trick one to many times. Can't blame him though. Why announce yourself when you can appear mysteriously from the shadows?" He disappeared from the doorway, only to reappear a moment later with a bundle. "Now that you're up, here," he tossed a bag at her, "I assumed you would want a quick shower and to change before work, so I had one of my girls get you some stuff."

"You do realize that with Mick gone I don't actually _have_ any work now." She had started working as Mick's partner officially, as in now he paid her, about a month after she'd turned down Talbot's suggestion to be a civilian investigator for the nth time. _I might have said yes, if he hadn't had been asking because he wanted to "spend more time together". _She'd laughed when he'd thrown in that little blunder in the middle of his 'why it would pay off' speech.

"Oh, I didn't say your work. I meant mine," he said with a cheeky grin. Then he strolled away, calling, "Showers across the hall," over his shoulder.

_Great. _Beth had actually been looking forward to a couple days of leisure, but it would seem that Josef was keen on not letting her get any rest. With a sigh, she opened the bag he'd given her and dumped its contents onto the bed. At first glance the clothes were harmless enough – a peach blouse and black slacks – but then she caught a glance of a tag. _Dear God._ The outfit before her was DKNY and probably cost more than she'd care to think about. _And it's mine now. _After all, Josef said he'd had his skanks 'get' her clothes, not let her 'borrow'. She was still aggravated at being locked in the room across from his, but this was definitely working him back into her good graces. She grabbed her clothes and headed over to the bathroom.

Like everything else in the house, it was immaculate and expensive. It was free of any feminine touch with its neutral beige walls and gleaming marble and gold surfaces. Her eyes roamed over the gilt framed mirror, the marble sink with its crystal knobs and what appeared to be gold faucet, an average looking toilet partially hidden behind a divider, an ornate shelf that held numerous bottles of soap and shampoo, but froze when she saw the bath. The corner opposite of an odd looking shower was dominated by a top of the line whirlpool bath, and after yesterday's events, it practically begged for Beth to step in.

_I really shouldn't. I mean, he said that he's got work._

Hell,_ he's the boss, if _he_ can't be late who can?_

Ten minutes later, she slipped into the therapeutic water. She sighed happily when the heated jets began to massage out the tension in her body. _A girl could get used to this._ While the tub was filling, she'd raided the shelf and found some bath oil simply labeled _Softer than Silk_ which she added to the water. After soaking for a couple minutes, she ran a hand along her arm and had to agree – she _was_ softer than silk.

Three loud raps sounded on the door, bursting her bubble of peace. "Beth," Josef's voice carried through the door, "I have a meeting in forty minutes. And as boring as that can be, I would rather not be late to a meeting with a future investor. So either you're out of that bath tub in the next five minutes... or I'm coming in."

Beth knew that he wasn't bluffing, but she wasn't one of his little freshies who came at his beck and call. She got out of the water and dried off with one of the plush towels, but at her own pace. Underwear hadn't been included in the bag of clothes, so she just slipped her others back on. _I _really _need to stop by my place. _Her legs were still damp when she pulled her pants up, and they stuck in the most uncomfortable places. She made it down to the third button on her blouse before Josef called 'time's up' and opened the door. He looked incredibly bored, which she figured was cover for the annoyance he was radiating. "You know, for someone with an immortal lifespan you sure are testy about time," she teased as she finished buttoning her blouse.

"Yeah, well presently my time _is _money, and your twenty minute delay may cost me eleven million dollars." After a quiet moment, he leaned over to retrieve something he'd sat down and came back up with a pair of tan heels. "You can't wear tennis shoes with dress pants, so I sent out for some heels. Size 7 ½ right?" He set the heels on the counter with a small grin as Beth eyed them.

_Don't tell me..._ _Yep_. Her suspicions were confirmed as she picked up the Jimmy Choo heels. She would have hugged them, but wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing how happy she was to just_ hold_ the shoes. Instead, she kept her poker face up and slipped them on, before turning to the full length mirror to check out her outfit. Everything fit perfectly. It may have been the new shoe-high talking, _but I look damn fine. _She caught Josef's eyes on her in the mirror and tossed him a saucy grin. He raised his eyebrows and smirked in response.

"Done admiring yourself?" She laughed and nodded. "Good." He shrugged off the doorway and headed off down the hall. "There's a bagel and coffee waiting for you in my car."

"Oh, so the vampire billionaire doesn't take the limo to work?" she joked.

"We would have, but you insisted upon a long bath, so we're taking my car." He sounded completely serious, as if he really took a limo to work each day. He led her down some steps before opening a door. "Welcome to my humble garage."

Cars were lined up in a room that must have stretched the length entire of the house. Lamborghini, Ferrari, Shelby GT, Lotus, Rolls Royce, and those were only the ones she could name. Her jaw might have smashed into the cement floor if she hadn't caught it. "Okay, immortality looks _fantastic_ to me now. Which are we taking to work?" He grabbed a set of keys off the wall and hit the unlock button. The glossy red car five foot in front of her beeped.

"Ferrari," he said with a smug grin.

.:!:.

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, so on the Softer than Silk bath oil, I just made that up. I have no idea if it's a real thing or not. Sounds luxurious though, don't it?

No idea what Beth's actually shoe size is, but she looks like 7 1/2 to me *shrugs* I also may have given her my shoe addiction lol.

I can't apologize enough about how long it took me just to post these few chapters, but I have a better reason this time for it than the others. I lost my USB that had all of my chapters, so I had to start all over and ended up going in a different direction. I like this chapter better than my previous chapter three anyway, so maybe it was fate!

And to all of you wonderful people who have reviewed: Thanks Your reviews mean a lot to me and I will try to respond to every one of them. To the anonymous reviews that I can't reply to: Thank you for taking the time to check out my little story!

Until next time, Ciao!


	4. Chapter 4

_I do not own Moonlight or any of the characters therein. Moonlight and its characters are the property of their respective owners._

**Chapter 4**

With practiced finesse, Josef pulled into his space in the underground parking lot and shut the engine off. He turned to Beth, amusement gleaming in his eyes as he watched her relax her vice-like grip on the seat and door. Her pulse still beat fast, and it carried the unexpected scent of exhilaration to his delicate nose. _I always thought she was a thrill seeker._ Out loud he asked, "Enjoy the ride?"

Beth laughed once before leaning down to grab her bagel bag from its place on the floor. "As much as you can when you're riding with a maniac. Do you even have a license?" she teased. He rolled his eyes and got out, moving to open her door before she'd even reached for the handle.

Pulling his wallet out of his back pocket, he presented it to her. "Of course I have a license. I just didn't get mine from the DMV." He flipped it shut and put it back when she started staring at the wallet and not the license.

She gave her head a little shake, "Wait, are you saying that you're driving around like a bat out of hell with a fake license?" Her eyes got bigger as she realized that he was.

"Until recently, a driver's license wasn't really necessary." She opened her mouth, so he quickly continued on. "And I never said that my license is fake – only that I didn't get it from the DMV. Besides, I've been driving cars since 1888. I think that makes me _over_ qualified behind the wheel."

"Uh huh, and I suppose that your supernatural reflexes will save me from becoming road kill if by some twist of fate your 100 plus years of driving experience fail?" She asked as she carefully got out of the car while holding her breakfast.

He adopted a hurt expression. "Why, Beth. I'm offended that you would even ask that. Experience never fails," he smirked, going from indignant to mischievous in a heartbeat. Beth just huffed and took a sip of her cooling coffee as he locked and armed the Ferrari. They began their stroll across the lot to the elevator in companionable silence, both lost in thought.

Josef's mind wandered over the events of the previous day - Namely, Beth's appearance with no notice before hand and the text from Mick he'd received before going to sleep only telling him to keep her close. _Something's wrong, and I don't need my "spidey senses" to know that. _He stole a look at the blond walking along beside him. _And that means that Beth either didn't tell or doesn't know the whole tale. _He would have known if Beth was hiding something from him when she told her side of the story, so that only left one rather unpleasant assumption. _What are you into _now_ Mick?_

Beth must have been deeper in thought than him because when they reached the elevator she walked into his back. 'Oof' came a muffled noise from behind him. He looked back in time to catch her startled expression and flushed cheeks. _Embarrassment looks good on her. _"So nice of you to join me again Miss Turner," he teased, making her blush deepen.

"Sorry. I guess I just spaced out." She tucked a piece of her hair back into place and composed herself before meeting Josef's eyes. "I've had an eventful past couple of days, and I'm still trying to work everything out in my head." Josef smiled – a genuine smile- _You and me both._

"Well, I can promise you enough time to think it all out today. You'll be sitting in on the meeting with me." He turned back to the elevator and pulled out his wallet. He removed a key card and slid it into the box on the wall.

"Seriously? You're going to make me sit through you schmoozing a bunch of politicians out of their money? She gave an exasperated sigh.

The doors opened to the elevator and he stepped on before answering, "They're investors not politicians, and yes. The meeting shouldn't last longer than two hours." He looked over at Beth as she came to stand beside him. "Will you be able stay still for that long?

"Will you?" she threw back. "I've waited outside a house for four hours to get a story. I think I can sit through a meeting. You, on the other hand, always seem to be doing something," she poked him in the chest with one finger.

"What can I say?" he shrugged. "Being a billionaire is hard work." She gave a short laugh.

A ding sounded and the doors opened to reveal two hulking figures dressed in black. Beth's pulse spiked as she did a quick step behind Josef, and he had to stop himself from laughing. He walked past the guards, who moved in front of the door behind him, effectively blocking Beth's way. He patted the tallest on his shoulder. "It's alright, guys. It's bring-a-human-to-work day," he grinned back at Beth. The tallest nodded and they parted to allow her through.

She caught up to Josef and tugged him closer. "What's with the Great Wall of Body Guards? I thought you'd gotten an updated security system? And are they vampires?" she whispered quickly.

He chuckled at her rapid fire questions. "The guards, as you saw, are mainly for intimidation. They're specially trained to notice any odd behavior, and yes, they are vamps. Sometimes you need a little bit more than just alarms to take care of your enemies," he whispered conspiratorially.

"Ah," she gave a small knowing smile, and let his sleeve go. He led her through the posh halls of Kostan Enterprises. Every once in a while he'd have to stop and pull her back on track as she lost herself in the expensive décor. When they finally made it to the meeting room, he turned to check on her.

"Ready?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"To possibly die of boredom? As much as I'll ever be."

He gave her an awkward sympathetic pat on the shoulder before pushing open the doors.

**.:!:.**

**A/N**: And the plot thickens! Or, in this case, finally makes a little appearance. What, oh what, could Mick really be into?

I've decided I'm going for the JoBe angle, so... yeah.


End file.
